Thursday, September 7, 2006

End of the Knives’ lives

Roche Uhntraal is at the top of the pops.

Halifax’s dance-punk fiasco Sharp Like Knives is calling it a day. Drummer Adam Seward will soon move up to Toronto, so the band plans to send him off in style with three final shows on September 8 (NSCAD Lounge), 9 (Speakeasy) and 14 (Pavilion).

“It’s been a good three, three-and-a-half years,” says frontman Paul Hammond. “We’re a slow-moving band, but I still feel that we did a decent amount of stuff with the time we were around.”

Hammond’s bandmates are already pursuing other interests—guitarist Greg Boone is busy with Die Brucke, keyboardist Matt Packman has some low-key solo material on the go, while VKNGS, bassist Mark Gillis’s new band, is already in full swing. But Hammond’s not sure where he’s headed.

“I’m not really looking for anything right now,” he says. “I was just thinking about this band that Greg and I used to be in called The Literati, and man, I really liked being in hardcore bands.”

The Pop don’t stop

Hammond hopes to join his Yo Rodeo! cohort Seth Smith during the Halifax Pop Explosion’s showcase at Boston’s NEMO Festival on September 29. The poster gurus will display some of their finest works, while Smith and his pop outfit Dog Day will perform alongside Julie Doiron, Shotgun and Jaybird, Caledonia and Carmen Townsend. The following evening, shutterbug Chris Smith will unleash his own photographic exhibit.

Speaking of the Pop Explosion, a slew of additions have been made, including Bionic, Lily Frost, Land of Talk, Wax Mannequin, Uncut and locals Jenn Grant, Rebekah Higgs, Old Man Luedecke and Wintersleep. The HPX runs October 17 to 21.

From pets to pollution

The last time we heard from Richard Lann of Thomas/Richard, he vowed his next recording would be about his pets, but his new disc, The Cloud Factory, has jumped the queue.

The Cloud Factory features full-band versions of some of Lann’s older material and some new ideas, strung together by a common train of thought.

“The theme is ‘home,’” Lann says. “It’s Pictou County-esque; a little ode to my old hometown.” The title “is a reference to the Scott Paper plant out in Pictou. When I was a kid, I used to think that’s how clouds were made—the pollution blends in with the clouds.”

Catch Thomas/Richard at Gus’s Pub on September 7 with Jon McKiel and AA Wallace.

Kidney gets Google

Folk rockers BillKidney & Complete Control release their debut, Perception, on September 8 at The Seahorse. The headliners are trying a couple of unconventional moves: there’s no cover charge for the show, and they’re pulling the ol’ switcheroo.

“The host band usually plays last, but we’re playing first,” says frontman Kidney. “We want all of the industry personnel that we can get out and all of our fans to be there. We’re going to play, and then we’re going to have The Jon Matheson Band entertain us. It’s our party!”

Kidney and co. pride themselves on controlling all creative and promotional aspects of their band. They’re ready to do anything to get the word out—even altering their name.

“Every time you type in ‘Bill Kidney’ on the internet, you’d get something about some guy named Bill who donated a kidney,” he says. “I put it together as one word so you’ll find me every time.”